Socio-emotional Pedagogies
The Indian Social and Emotional Learning Framework: Empirical Research on developing SEL Standards for Schools in India
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Maya Menon
The National Curriculum Framework (NCF, 2005) in India, recognises that emotions, values and attitudes are critical aspects of the learning process. It states "Development of life skills such as critical thinking skills, interpersonal communication skills, negotiation/refusal skills, decision making/problem solving skills and coping and self management skills, are ...very critical for dealing with the demands and challenges of everyday life." However no guidelines are provided on how to nurture these skills in an age appropriate manner amongst children who represent 39% of India's total population! (Census of India 2010-11). In 2012, The Teacher Foundation embarked on a first-of-its-kind nation-wide exploratory research to examine the perspectives of teachers and students on social and emotional learning. Data was gathered in 10 different languages, from 15 locations - urban and rural. The respondents included 850 teachers and 3300 students from state-run and private schools. The data analysis reveals the neglect of and need for key SEL competencies amongst school-going children in India. The findings have subsequently led to the development of the Indian Social and Emotional Learning Framework (ISELF) for ages 6–18 years that can be used as an age-banded tool to nurture SEL Competencies. ISELF has been conceived as a practical framework that can be utilised by schools & teachers to build social-emotional competencies in their students. The ISELF is currently being pilot-tested in a range of Indian schools to assess its effectiveness. This paper will share the key findings from the research and provide an overview of the ISELF post-pilot.
Exploring the Lived Experience with Emotional Labor of Female Health Champions: Implementing Comprehensive School Health Reforms
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Astrid Kendrick
This hermeneutic phenomenological study explored the lived experience of five female Health Champions as they navigated through periods of flux and systemic instability while implementing Comprehensive School Health initiatives. The purpose of this study was to discover the immediate emotional and embodied experiences identified by five change agents having horizontal differentiation of roles including: pre-service student teacher, educational assistant, teacher, school leader, and system leader while undertaking educational reforms introduced between 2009 and 2016 in Alberta, Canada. This study uncovered insights into their common understanding of emotional labor as they experienced this phenomenon while implementing the Comprehensive School Health framework, a reform to Physical and Health Education that coincided with the Inspiring Education movement. The findings of the study define the unique nature of the emotional work of change agents in educational settings, create a storied common lived experience, and suggest some implications and areas of future study for leaders interested in implementing Comprehensive School Health initiatives.
Epistemological, Pedagogical and Disciplinary Conceptions of Chilean Primary School Mathematics Teachers
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Anmarie Beyer, Claudia García, Edith Pinto, Yenny Assael, Ricardo Abarca, Sebastian Molina, Marcelo Arancibia, Christian Miranda Jaña
This work analyses the epistemological, pedagogical and disciplinary conceptions of primary school mathematics teachers. The theory of teacher conceptions is used as a basis. It is a qualitative study, using an ex post facto interpretative-comprehensive design. Individual interviews and a focus group were held with eight teachers from the cities of Concepción, Temuco, and Santiago. The analysis was based on Grounded Theory and included information triangulation. The results reveal that the epistemological, disciplinary and pedagogical conceptions of mathematics are central to meeting the teachers' expectations about their specialization and that disciplinary autonomy and the teaching and evaluative aspects are relevant to the teaching conceptions of how to transfer the learned subject matter to the classroom.
Self-advocacy for Youth in Care
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Kathryn Levine, Melanie Janzen, Dawn Sutherland
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), of which Canada is a signatory, identifies access to primary and mental health, spiritual, and educational “institutions, facilities and services” as categorical rights of children and youth. Consequently, ensuring that children’s rights are upheld within these systems becomes the primary obligation of parents and legal guardians. In contrast to youth whose parents assume this responsibility, youth in care of child welfare authorities depend upon a range of professionals to advocate on their behalf to ensure these rights are upheld, and that youth have access to information that supports their best interests. Despite the responsibility of child welfare authorities to act in loco parentis, many youth in care do not have equitable access to legal, financial, mental health, or educational support services, nor are they sufficiently knowledgeable to fully understand their rights in order to hold the child welfare agency accountable. Providing self-advocacy skill development for youth in care of may be one mechanism by which youth can contribute to changes in child welfare policies and practices that will address the acute disadvantages experienced by youth in care. This paper describes the development, implementation, and evaluation of a self-advocacy course for youth in care in Manitoba, Canada. Working within the framework of the UNCRC, Pillars of Learning is a five-month curriculum composed of a variety of modules that explore self- advocacy knowledge, skill development, and critically, how the self-identity of youth in care can be reclaimed through rights-based self-advocacy practice.
